I almost stop breathing when I see this photo. It's as if I don't want to wake them.
I imagine myself tiptoeing backwards and quietly shutting the door. Slowly turning the handle, so it doesn't click shut.
It's a scene of raw tenderness.
I know the subjects, my son and his precious daughter. But when I see it, I think of my Father. His word tells me this is the kind of love He has for me.
Protective, tender, and proud.
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will...

Do you remember?
The gentle comfort of water cradling your face, muffling sounds, embracing you in wet warmth. Like a womb.
Hair floating mermaid-like. Whoosh, whoosh. Held, light, no cares. Joyful.
Yesterday, I was at a local lake with my daughters and grandkids. In between digging sand traps for minnows, eating watermelon in the water and playing keep away with the rinds, and trying to talk the toddlers into holding their noses and putting their face in the water—I swam out a bit and floated.
The buoyancy eased my stiff, sore neck. With little effort I lay on the surface of the lake, brilliant...

God, there's so much ugly in me.
I'm so prone to jealousy and resentment. I see a sister receive favor from others or you, and I grumble when I ought to rejoice.
The older brother is alive and well in my heart. And this party isn't even for a prodigal.
No, this celebration is for a sister who plowed and planted beside me. We labored together in Your field, both dreaming of a harvest–to bring glory to Your name.
And now her crop has come in.
I want to stand aside and count, weigh, and measure.
"Is it larger than mine?"
"Is it better?"
And the kicker . ....

I planted my window boxes last night. The sun was setting through the trees, but the long summer light allowed me to work until almost nine. The cooler temperature was welcome, and I thought of farmers who used to work late into the night with a full moon.
It wasn't until we moved away from the city to the country that I even started to notice things like longer days and moon phases. Did you know the sun rises and sets at different places throughout the year? I know, that's how we get our seasons. It's a scientific fact, but that's...

Less is more.
You've probably heard it before. It's the minimalist's mantra, and in a loud world longing for simplicity, it makes sense. Rejecting the extraneous and embracing minimalism is a welcome change.
But even minimalism can be complicated. A quick online search for minimalism brings up 334,000,000 hits. That's 334,000,000 ways to "simplify" your life. A reality of living in the information age is the non-stop flow of ways to make life better. We can perfect our schedules, our meal plans, our health, our careers, our homes, our relationships . . . you name it!
perfectionism is insatiable. It always demands more.
Perfectionism offers us one of...

It was one of the first plays I’d ever auditioned for.
At sixteen, I was a college freshman, and my introverted self was struggling to connect socially. Drama wasn’t my thing, but I thought it would be a fun way to get involved and make some new friends.
The audition went surprisingly well. I reached down deep and drew out my inner diva (believe me, it took some digging). A few days later, I made call backs for the musical part of the audition! This should have been easy for me. I’d spent my high school years touring with our church choir...